This initiative has been started as an effort to educate young people as well as members of the local community about the importance of water quality.

If you are a school student or a member of the public and would like to have a hands on experience in water testing to assess water quality , you are most welcome to take part in out bi – monthly water quality testing sessions at Chinese Gardens Singapore . You can register your interest by emailing to Law Yu Hui .

The next scheduled date is on 10th June 2012. Registration is now open.

Parameters for monitoring water quality include : Physical, Chemical and Biological

Physical parameters are mostly aesthetic and include :

Turbidity

Color

Temperature

Taste and Odour

Conductivity

Solids content

Chemical parameters are numerous and assessed depending on the background of the waterbody / water sample being tested . Chemical parameters include :

pH

Dissolved Oxygen ( DO )

Chlorides

Hardness

Nitrate

Phosphate

Ammonia

Organic content

Trace metals to name a few .

Biological parameters are assessed to determine if a water sample is safe to drink or if a water sample has come into contact with disease – causing agents such as domestic wastewater .

Determination of concentrations of various selected parameters relevant to a particular waterbody of sample can be done with the help of test – kits or laboratory testing methods.

One simple way of assessing water quality in a surface waterbody such as a pond, lake, or river is to use the World Water Monitoring Day test – kits supplied by International Water Association ( IWA ) and Water Environment Federation ( WEF ).

Land use has significant impacts on water quality, human and environmental health.

In recent years, constructed wetlands have gained vast popularity in Singapore’s Active,
Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters Management. This growing acceptance is largely attributed
to the advantages offered by the system with relatively passive, natural processes, minimal
maintenance and simple operational principles while enhancing the existing habitat and giving
aesthetic benefits.

Constructed wetlands have numerous applications such as: purification of
stormwater runoff, treatment of industrial used water, treating agriculture discharge, polishing of
domestic used water effluent and many more.

Constructed wetlands are also built to control water flow and water quality in natural habitats.

Floating wetlands are an assembly of vegetation, soil and microbes for biological removal of contaminants. The systems rely upon combination of natural microbes, biological, physical and chemical processes to achieve good water quality.